Psychosocial factors influencing community participation and governance: Evidence from a Waqf Tube-Well Project in Malaysia

Rural water insecurity continues to be a significant issue, even with national advancements in the availability of treated water. Waqf-funded water initiatives represent innovative instruments of Islamic social finance that can enhance state infrastructure development. This research investigates the psychosocial factors influencing community engagement, governance, and sustainability in a Waqf Tube-Well Boring System project in Malaysia. A post-intervention survey involving 120 community participants identified six latent constructs: Knowledge, Attitude, Skills, Aspirations, Practice Change, and Community Participation, Local Governance & Sustainability. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was utilized to assess the measurement and structural models. The findings indicate that all five predictors have a positive and significant impact on community participation and governance, accounting for 33 percent of the variance. Practice Change was identified as the most significant predictor, followed by Attitude and Skills, highlighting the importance of behavioral adoption, perceived value, and technical competence in the sustainability of community-based water systems. The model exhibited acceptable reliability and structural fit for exploratory research, despite limitations in convergent validity. The findings underscore the significance of practice-oriented interventions, role-based capacity building, and narrative framing that aligns waqf values with community welfare. This study adds to the growing empirical evidence regarding waqf water systems, providing insights for program enhancement, policy integration, and the expansion of faith-based water governance initiatives.